Top telecom companies make a killing in the United States. AT&T and Verizon combined to pull in more than $64 billion in revenue during the most recent quarter alone, yielding about $13.3 billion in combined operating income. Wireless represents the biggest business for each of the nation’s top carriers, and high-margin smartphone sales play an important role in maintaining growth.

If smartphone sales start to move away from carriers, they stand to lose a huge amount of money in the long run. This could be one of several reasons we now see carriers actively promoting new smartphone purchasing options. But what happens if handset companies start successfully selling their own devices directly to consumers at ridiculously affordable prices?

One fresh new company intends to find out, and it could end up being your carrier’s worst nightmare. More →